Public meeting set to address ongoing bike lane dispute

A public meeting has been scheduled to address growing concerns regarding bike lanes in the Hundred Oaks neighborhood.

Councilwoman C. Denise Marcelle says the meeting is tentatively scheduled for Monday, October 5. It will be held at the Ingleside Church on Capital Heights Ave.

The meeting will include city officials to address concerns from residents regarding bikes lanes located on Glenmore Avenue and Hundred Oaks Avenue. Although the lanes were added nine years ago, residents upset over recent parking tickets that were issued by Baton Rouge Police.

"They had changed the legal definition of the lane to a designated bike lane about a year ago without our knowledge," said resident Arthur Abercrombie in a recent interview with WAFB.

Abercrombie and 53 of the 58 homeowners who live on Glenmore Avenue have signed a petition to request the designated bike lane become a shared space so that they or their guests can park on the street. But cyclists said it defeats the purpose.

"Let's flip the script and get a bunch of cyclist to park their bikes in the middle of the travel lanes. Would not only the neighbors who live there and the people who use the street immediately call the police and say we've got a problem, there's bicycles parked in the lane," said Gordon Mese, a cyclist who lives nearby.

Petitioners said they do not want to chase cyclists out of the streets, they simply do not want to be penalized for using the space in front of their properties.

Councilwoman Marcelle hopes the public meeting will address both sides of the issue.

There is a big battle brewing in the Hundred Oaks neighborhood over a special lane for bicyclists. The City of Baton Rouge striped a portion of Glenmore Ave. nine years ago. Residents said they thought it was help to slow traffic. But when tickets started popping up on their cars, they learned it had a different meaning. More >>

There is a big battle brewing in the Hundred Oaks neighborhood over a special lane for bicyclists. The City of Baton Rouge striped a portion of Glenmore Ave. nine years ago. Residents said they thought it was help to slow traffic. But when tickets started popping up on their cars, they learned it had a different meaning. More >>